March was a very busy month for me with travel across four different states - Michigan to Florida to Colorado, then back to Michigan, a quick visit to Iowa, then back to Florida!

While in Florida the first time we had our long-awaited Southeastern Ecology and Evolution Conference (SEEC 2016) hosted by the FSU bio grad students. In Colorado, we had a working group for our Data Nuggets NSF DRK-12 grant, which was very productive and fun! It was great to meet the other collaborators in person, too. Finally, I even was able to drive to Iowa and visit family for a holiday (Easter) for the first time since 2009 (normally we fly). Now that I'm back in Florida, it's crunch time to finish up my dissertation work in time for my defense (2 months and 5 days away!!).

But, I did get a chance to share some of the exciting work I'm doing for my postdoc at the BEACON Center for their weekly blog posts. Check it out here!!

Undergraduate diversity travel awards are available to attend Evolution 2016, June 17-21 in Austin, TX! Find out more and apply online.

The Society for the Study of Evolution (SSE) and the BEACON Center are funding a cohort of diverse undergraduates from throughout the U.S. to present a poster, receive mentoring, and participate in career-oriented activities at the annual Evolution conference. The application deadline is Monday, April 18th, and decisions will be announced by Tuesday, April 26th. Applications are welcomed from all U.S. undergraduates, and the admissions goal is to create a diverse pool of students. Find out more about the Evolution conference here.

They also need mentors (grad students, postdocs, and faculty) for the undergraduate awardees. This is a fantastic program to get involved with, so if you plan to go to Evolution 2016 definitely check it out!!